Hiker rescued from mountains in NH after hours trapped

JAFFREY, NH (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A hiker was rescued from the mountains in New Hampshire Saturday after getting separated from a friend and being stuck between boulders for hours.

At about 6:45 p.m., New Hampshire Conservation Officers responded to Mount Monadnock in Jaffrey for the report of a lost hiker. Travis Pinn, 55, had been hiking with his friend, Paul Vining when the two were separated in the early morning.

Vining said the pair planned to hike up the White Dot trail to the summit, and then travel back down. Vining lost sight of Pinn about 30 minutes into the hike, when they passed the White Cross Trail. Vining made it to the summit, and then turned around to look for his friend on the way down.

He never found him.

Vining called Pinn's wife, who then called state police and told them about Pinn's possible medical issues. A search team then began looking for the 55-year-old.

Hours later, at 12:40 a.m., park personnel found the Athol man while searching off trail in the Mead Brook Drainage. He said he lost the trail on his way up to the summit and was unable to move after falling between several big boulders.

"I was upside down, my feet were on top and my head was down on the bottom, so when I crawled out, I had to crawl out, lead off with my legs," he said. "I think at the time that I realized I wasn't going to be able to do this myself."

He was trapped for at least 10 hours before he was helped down the mountain and rushed to the hospital. After three days of treatment for exhaustion and dehydration, he's just happy to be alive.

"You're reflecting back on a lot of things, you learn to say your prayers and just put things into perspective," he said.

Cox Media Group